Three civilians and an army man has been killed during the ongoing encounter in Khudwani area of Kulgam district on Wednesday.
The civilians were killed during clashes which erupted near the gun fight site.
An official said that the gunfight broke out in Wani Mohalla area of Khudwani at 11 pm after forces launched a cordon-and-search operation.
“During the search operation, some gunshots were heard after which an encounter started. The gunfight is still underway,” he said.
He said that three forces’ personnel were wounded in the firefight. The injured were shifted to Army Base Hospital where a soldier succumbed.
Two militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba are believed to be trapped inside a house.
The deceased civilians were identified as Sharjeel Ahmad Sheikh (28), Bilal Ahmad Dar (16) and Faisal Illahi of Sangam.
Dar of Kujjar village in Qaimoh tehsil of the district was declared brought dead at sub-district hospital Qaimoh.
A doctor at the hospital said that the boy had suffered a bullet injury.
Sheikh was killed after being hit by a bullet during clashes near the site of gunfight in Wani Mohalla of Khudwani. He succumbed at District Hospital Anantnag.
Faisal Illahi, a resident of Sangam area, succumbed at SDH Qaimoh.
The civilian deaths occur just two days after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met the Prime Minister and Defence Minister of India. In her meeting with Narendra Modi, she had appealed for finding ways to end the bloodshed and alienation in the valley.
During her meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman, Mehbooba had called for a ‘humane approach and avoiding collateral damage during security operations’.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the civilian killings, protests rocked University of Kashmir. Students from various departments assembled outside the Humanities block and staged a protest against the civilian killings.
Clashes have erupted in parts of Pulwama and Shopian districts against the killing of three civilians during an ongoing gunfight in Khudwani area of Kulgam.
Youth pelted stones on government forces deployed in southern areas to express their anger at the killings. Forces responded by firing tear gas shells to disperse the protesting youth.Clashes were going on at the time of filing of this report.